System and method for providing profile enhancement using scheduling information

ABSTRACT

A system and method of enhancing a profile of a portable device. The system and method includes defining an event type in a scheduling tool and scheduling a time to initiate the event type. The system and method further includes associating a notification profile of a device with the defined event type and changing a setting of the device to the notification profile in response to the scheduling time and the defined event type.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention generally relates to a system and method for providingprofile enhancement to a portable device and, more particularly, to asystem and method for providing a notification type to a portable deviceusing scheduling information.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Today's culture is becoming more technology-centric. Traditional linesdenoting the bounds of professional and personal portions of our livesare quickly dissolving with the predominance of cellular telephones,pagers, portable digital assistants (PDA), as well as pervasive andremote e-mail systems. These devices and systems provide thetechnologies for remote access and/or notification for an end user.

These devices and systems (hereinafter referred to as portable devices)are technical advances that provide many benefits, but can also bedistractions to the user as well as to others in the vicinity. Forexample, users, such as doctors and information technology staff, whospend time “on call”, for example, are able to enjoy the ability to beconnected while at a remote location. This provides the user with manyadvantages such as, for example, the ability to travel without the worrythat an important telephone call or email will be missed.

However, considerate and proper use of these devices often necessitatesthat their operating mode be changed to reflect the user's currentenvironment. As an example, during a meeting, it is generally consideredbest to change the notification profile of a cellular telephone fromaudio notification (e.g., ring) to physical notification (e.g.,vibration mode) to reduce the disruption of an incoming call to otherswithin the meeting. Furthermore, most users have experienced ringingtelephones during other inopportune times such as in a movie orrestaurant, as well as having missed calls when the cellular telephonehas been left on vibrate.

While it is true that most cellular telephones, pagers and otherportable type devices have the ability to be changed from audio tophysical notification (i.e., modified to vibrate instead of beep using aprofile defined on a portable device), doing so requires that the usermanually induce both the initial setting (i.e., from ring to vibrate)and back to the original notification setting (i.e., from vibrate toring) as the environment changes for the user. Changing a notificationprofile of a portable device is not overly complicated, but the user caneasily forget to change the notification profile, leading tounnecessary, avoidable disruption to others or missed calls, emails,pages, etc. Making such manual changes can be time consuming and, to acertain extent, may still be complicated for the unsophisticated user.For example, in some applications, the user may have to navigate throughmany scroll-down windows, options, etc., merely to change the profilefrom “ring” to “vibrate”.

Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to overcome the deficienciesand limitations described hereinabove.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect of the invention, a method includes defining at leastone event type in a scheduling tool and scheduling a time to initiatethe event type. The method further includes associating at least onenotification profile of a device with the defined event type andchanging a setting of the device to the notification profile in responseto the scheduling time and the defined event type.

In another aspect of the invention, the method includes selecting anevent type in a calendar tool and associating a notification profile tothe selected event type. The method further includes scheduling a timefor the event type to take place in the calendar tool and changing anotification method of a portable device with the notification profilein response to the scheduled event type and the selected event type.

In another aspect of the invention, a system comprises a calendar toolcontaining data associated with at least one or more event types andnotification profiles, and at least one of a hardware and softwarecomponent for setting an event type of the one or more event types to ascheduled time. The hardware and/or software component associates theevent type with a notification profile of the one or more notificationprofiles and initiates a change of a notification method in a portabledevice to the notification profile in response to the scheduled event.

In another aspect of the invention, a computer program productcomprising a computer usable medium having readable program codeembodied in the medium includes at least one component to implement themethod(s) of the invention.

In another aspect of the invention, a process for integrating computinginfrastructure, comprises integrating computer-readable code into acomputer system, wherein the computer system comprises a computer usablemedium, wherein the computer usable medium comprises a profilenotification enhancement, and wherein the code in combination with thecomputer system is capable of performing the method(s) of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 a and 1 b are diagrams of embodiments in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a representation of a graphical user interface (GUI)implementing an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 a is a representation of a GUI implementing an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 3 b is a representation of a GUI implementing an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 4 a is a representation of a cellular telephone and accompanyingGUI implementing an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 b is a representation of a cellular telephone GUI implementing anembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a flow chart implementing steps in accordance with anembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative environment for implementing the steps inaccordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The invention is directed to a system and method for providing and/ormodifying a notification profile (e.g., ring type) of a portable devicein response to a calendared event using a scheduling tool. Inembodiments, the system and method of the invention allows a user tochange or modify a profile of a portable device using a calendar orscheduling tool such as, for example, Lotus Notes. This can be performedremotely using a workstation (e.g., a computer) and any known networktechnology such as, for example, CDMA, infrared linking, etc. It is alsocontemplated that the portable device may be programmed without the useof a workstation, in the case that the portable device has an internalcalendar or scheduling tool, for example. With use of the invention, itis now possible to permit the automation of changes to notificationprofiles, e.g., ringing, etc, of a portable device by using calendartools as specified by the end user's calendar events. This will resultin smooth and non-disruptive changes in the notification profile of theportable device to reflect a change in the end user's environment which,in turn, will reduce the device management burden to the end user.

FIG. 1 a is a block diagram of an embodiment of the invention, generallydenoted by reference numeral 100. The components of FIG. 1 a may be usedto implement the processing of the invention, as discussed more fullybelow. In one embodiment, the invention includes at least one userworkstation 105 (i.e., a computer for a user, a workstation, or clientworkstation) which typically has a memory device (for example, a harddrive, DVD drive, or the like), processor and accompanying components,all well known to those of skill in the art. The user workstation 105additionally includes a scheduling and/or calendar tool such as, forexample, Lotus® Notes or MicroSoft™ Calendar. The user workstation 105may be connected via a network 110 (e.g., a local area network (LAN), awide area network (WAN), wireless network, IR, or the Internet, to namebut a few) to a portable device 115. The portable device 115 may be, forexample, a cellular telephone, portable digital assistant, pager,BlackBerry™ or other communication device. It should be recognized thatthe workstation and the portable device may be representative of thesame or different users.

FIG. 1 b shows a cellular telephone or other portable device (e.g., PDA)115, which includes a graphical user interface 115 a. The GUI 115 aallows a user to accept, decline or modify a notification profile whichwas provided via the workstation 105. Alternatively, the GUI 115 aallows the user to directly change the notification profile of theportable device 115 based on an event occurrence, without the need forthe workstation 105 or network 110, in general. In such instances, theportable device 115 will have a scheduling and/or calendar tool, whichincludes an option to change a notification profile based on a calendarevent.

FIG. 2 is a representative illustration of a graphical user interface(GUI) implementing an embodiment of the invention. In the representationof FIG. 2, the GUI is generally denoted as reference numeral 200. TheGUI 200, in one aspect of the invention, provides a mechanism forsetting defaults for event types and notification profiles (alsoreferred to as settings or device profiles) of the portable device 115.The GUI 200 of FIG. 2 may be implemented on the workstation 105 or theportable device 115, itself, or both, depending on the particularapplication. By way of illustration, the GUI 200 of FIG. 2 may beprovided on the workstation 105 to set notification profile defaults ofa cellular telephone, in the absence of a calendar tool loaded on thecellular telephone.

As shown in the example of FIG. 2, the GUI 200 includes a list ofcalendar events 205 and device or notification profiles (e.g., settings)210. The calendar events 205 may include, for example,

-   -   meeting;    -   appointment;    -   all day event;    -   anniversary; and    -   reminder.        It should be understood that the above list of calendar events        is merely representative of events that may be preprogrammed        into the calendar or scheduling tool. Accordingly, the above        list should not be considered exhaustive of all calendar events,        and is provided as an illustrative example of most common        calendar events used in a calendar or scheduling tool.

The profiles 210 may be associated to any of the above calendar events.For example, the profiles, e.g., settings, may include:

-   -   loud (e.g., ring at a predetermined decibel level);    -   soft (e.g., ring at a predetermined decibel level);    -   vibrate;    -   vibrate and ring;    -   vibrate then ring; and    -   silent.        In one example, the notification profile of “vibrate” may be        associated to the event of “meeting”, as discussed more fully        below. It should be understood that the above list is        representative of notification types (e.g., device settings)        that may be used with a portable device 115 such as a cellular        telephone. Accordingly, the above list should not be considered        exhaustive of all types of settings used with different portable        devices. Other notification types may be visual cues such as        backlighting, blinking, etc.

Still referring to FIG. 2, in implementation, a user may associate oneof the calendar events 205 with the notification profiles 210. This canbe accomplished by highlighting a calendar event, e.g., meeting, andselecting a notification profile, e.g., silent. In this manner, when auser opens the calendar tool, for example, and selects a calendar eventof “meeting”, the default option for the device setting will be“silent”.

FIG. 3 a is a representation of a Lotus Notes GUI implementing anembodiment of the invention. The GUI of FIG. 3 a may equally be anyknown calendar or scheduling tool, implemented on either the workstation105 or the portable device 115, itself. The GUI, shown generally asreference numeral 300, includes several fields, including a calendarevent field 305, appointment entry field 310, invitee field 315,categorize field 320, profile field 325 and notify fields 330 and 335,amongst others. The calendar event field 305 may include the calendarevents, as discussed above with reference to FIG. 2.

In the example of FIG. 3 a, the calendar event field 305 is populatedwith a “meeting” event. In one aspect of the invention, the default for“meeting” event is “vibration”, which may have been previously set as adefault using the GUI of FIG. 2, for example. In further embodiments ofthe invention, the user can override the default by use of the fieldsshown in the window 400. This is provided by selecting the notificationprofile field 325, and thereafter selecting the desired notificationprofile, e.g., “vibration”. Alternatively, if no default was provided,the user can use the fields in window 400 to set the notificationprofile. In the window 400, profiles include, as an illustrativeexample, (i) loud ring, (ii) normal ring, (iii) soft ring, (iv) vibrate,and (v) silent.

Still referring to FIG. 3 a, the calendar event field 305 may include ascroll down window or a window, as shown in FIG. 3 b. In eitherscenario, the user has the option of choosing between many differentevents. These events may include, for example, meeting, appointment, allday event, anniversary, and reminder, to name a few. The appointmententry field 310, invitee field 315 and categorize field 320 are all wellknown fields, not requiring explanation herein. The user also has theopportunity to define or select the portable device, using for examplethe option 325.

It should be recognized that the user can define many different portabledevices for notification during a same or different log on session, evenselecting different notification profiles and protocols for each device.For example, the user may select both a cellular telephone and a pager,via option 325. With the pager, the user can select the vibrate mode;whereas, with the cellular telephone, the user can select blinking LED,as one example, via option 400. This provides added flexibility acrossdifferent devices which may be used by the user, sender and/orrecipient.

In addition, the GUI of FIG. 3 a may include a notify field fordifferent users, at reference numeral 335. In one implementation, afirst user may set a calendar event which involves several parties. Inuse, the first user would select the notify option 335 which, in turn,may be used to send a notification profile change or request to any orall of the parties associated with the calendar event. By way ofexample, “A” sets a calendar event which involves “B” and “C”. “A” mayrequest a notification change to the portable device of “B” and “C”. Dueto the flexibility of the system, “A” may select different portabledevice types and notification profile changes to “B” and “C”, dependingon the specific devices and preferences which are used by the users, “A”and “B”. The system and method of the invention is further capable ofsending different protocols to activate the specific devices, dependingon the specific requirements of the device.

The notify field 330 (and 335) of FIG. 3 a may have different functions,depending on the particular application provided by the serviceprovider, all of which are contemplated herein. The following areillustrative examples, implementing the notification scheme of theinvention.

1. Selecting the notify field: In this embodiment, by selecting thenotify field, the calendar or scheduling tool automatically notifies theuser of an upcoming event and change of notification profile. Thisprovides the user with the opportunity to accept, decline or modify theupcoming event or notification profile, via options on the portabledevice, itself.

2. Not selecting the notify field: In this embodiment, by not selectingthe notify field, the system and method of the invention will not notifythe user; however, the notification profile will automatically changebased on an upcoming event.

3. Not selecting the notify field: In this embodiment, by not selectingthe notify field 330, the system and method will not make any changes tothe portable device, despite a scheduled event.

In one aspect of the invention, the end user may define the portabledevice, notification profile for the selected device, and communicationprotocol to the calendar or scheduling tool. Additionally, the end user,or by default, the calendar or scheduling tool, itself, can download orload, respectively, the notification profiles for that device. As anexample, the notification profiles may be downloaded from the portabledevice or remote server over a network, IR, or other communicationmechanism. As discussed above, the notification profiles may includesoft audible ring, medium audible ring, loud audible ring, silent,vibrate, or a visual cue such as a backlight blink or an LED blink,alone or in any combination with the above, to name but a few.

The communication method may include, for example, SMS (Short MessageService) or email. In the case of email, an executable attachment may besent to the portable device in order to (i) prompt or initiate theportable device to send the required notification profiles to thecalendar or scheduling tool or (ii) initiate the change in thenotification profile. The message may also be an email message in aformat which can be interpreted by the agent on the device to perform(i) and (ii), above.

In a further alternative example, an executable program or code may beresident on the portable device and, as such, upon receipt of a requestto change the notification profile, the portable device will initiatesuch change automatically. These implementations may be performed foreach portable device specified in the calendar or scheduling tool. Infurther embodiments, a password, encryption scheme or digitalsignatures, certificate or other identifier may be implemented forsecurity purposes, thereby reducing the ability to corrupt the portabledevice from an unauthorized source. In this implementation, the systemwill identify, trust or distrust a digital signature, certificate orother identifier to initiate the changing of the at least onenotification profile.

FIG. 4 a shows a cellular telephone with an illustrative GUI,implementing the invention. The cellular telephone 115, in the exampleof FIG. 4 a, includes a viewing screen 405 capable of displaying amessage window 410. The message window 410 includes a notificationmessage received from the calendar or scheduling tool which, in oneimplementation, may include the event type, time and particulars, aswell as a notification that the notification profiles will be adjustedin response to the upcoming event. The user has the ability to accept ordecline the notification profile by either selecting a “yes” button 410a or a “no” button 410 b.

FIG. 4 b shows an alternative embodiment of a message window 410. Inthis embodiment, in response to a received notification, the user hasthe ability to accept, decline or modify the setting by selecting the“yes” button 410 a, “no” button 410 b or “modify” button 410 c,respectively. By selecting the modify button 410 c, a window interface415 will appear allowing the user to modify the notification profile forthe particular event. The user may also be given options to define the“on” and “off” time periods which will denote when calendar tool is tocontrol the portable device.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram implementing steps of the invention. FIG. 5 mayequally represent a high-level block diagram of the invention. The stepsof FIG. 5 may be implemented and executed from either a server, in aclient server relationship, or they may run on a user workstation withoperative information conveyed to the user workstation to create thenavigation outlined above. Additionally, the invention can take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment oran embodiment containing both hardware and software elements.

In an embodiment, the invention is implemented in software, whichincludes but is not limited to firmware, resident software, microcode,etc. Furthermore, the invention can take the form of a computer programproduct accessible from a computer-usable or computer-readable mediumproviding program code for use by or in connection with a computer orany instruction execution system. For the purposes of this description,a computer-usable or computer readable medium can be any apparatus thatcan contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program foruse by or in connection with the instruction execution system,apparatus, or device. The medium can be an electronic, magnetic,optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system (orapparatus or device) or a propagation medium. Examples of acomputer-readable medium include a semiconductor or solid state memory,magnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, a random access memory(RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a rigid magnetic disk and an opticaldisk. Current examples of optical disks include compact disk-read onlymemory (CD-ROM), compact disk-read/write (CD-R/W) and DVD.

A data processing system suitable for storing and/or executing programcode will include at least one processor coupled directly or indirectlyto memory elements through a system bus. The memory elements can includelocal memory employed during actual execution of the program code, bulkstorage, and cache memories which provide temporary storage of at leastsome program code in order to reduce the number of times code must beretrieved from bulk storage during execution. Input/output or I/Odevices (including but not limited to keyboards, displays, pointingdevices, etc.) can be coupled to the system either directly or throughintervening I/O controllers. Network adapters may also be coupled to thesystem to enable the data processing system to become coupled to otherdata processing systems or remote printers or storage devices throughintervening private or public networks. Modems, cable modem and Ethernetcards are just a few of the currently available types of networkadapters.

In another embodiment, the invention provides a business method thatperforms the process steps of the invention on a subscription,advertising, and/or fee basis. That is, a service provider, such as aSolution Integrator, could offer to provide notification profiles to auser. In this case, the service provider can create, maintain, support,etc., a computer infrastructure that performs the process steps of theinvention for one or more customers. In return, the service provider canreceive payment from the customer(s) under a subscription and/or feeagreement and/or the service provider can receive payment from the saleof advertising content to one or more third parties.

Referring back to FIG. 5, at step 500, a user opens the calendar orscheduling tool, either on a workstation, remote server, or a portabledevice. The user, at optional step 505, may set a default for thenotification profile for specific event types. At step 510, the userpopulates the many different fields of the calendar or scheduling toolincluding, amongst other features, the event type, notification profiletype (if not set as a default), and if applicable, the notificationfield. At step 515, at the onset or prior to the scheduled event, anemail, SMS or other transmission will be provided to the portabledevice, and if the notification field has been selected, the user willbe notified prior to a change of the notification profile type. (Thisstep may be eliminated if the user is using the scheduling tool of theportable device.) The notification type may be a silent notification,reminding the user of the change or, alternatively, initiating thechange automatically.

The user, at optional step 520, may accept, decline or modify the changeto the notification profile type. At step 525, if accepted or modified,the notification profile of the portable device is changed. At step 530,if appropriate, after the event type has expired, the notificationprofile will revert back to the original setting. In one furthercontemplated embodiment, the calendar or scheduling tool may besynchronized with the portable device. In this implementation, theportable device will be updated on a regular basis, in any well knownmanner.

EXAMPLE OF USE

By way of one specific illustration, upon an occurrence of a scheduledmeeting, the calendar tool may send a message to the portable devicewhich contains the desired notification profile. This may betransmitted, for example, using the SMS protocol/format. The receipt ofthis message will, in turn, result in an automated change to theappropriate notification profile as specified in the received message,via any of the methods described herein. In one implementation, byselecting the notify field, an alert, e.g., silent alert, may beprovided to the end user by the portable device as a notification of thechange of notification profile.

In a more specific example, referring to the GUI of FIG. 3 a, the userwould populate the required fields. For example, the user would indicatea meeting event on Jul. 9, 2005 at 5:45 PM with an end time of 6:45 PM.The user would select the notify the end user function, and request achange of the notification profile type to vibrate. The user may alsoidentify one or more portable devices and, if appropriate, thecommunication mode for each.

Upon the occurrence of the event, a message will be sent to the cellulartelephone at or prior to the scheduled start of the event, e.g., Jul. 9,2005 at 5:45 PM, to instruct the user's (receiver's) cellular telephoneto change from “ring mode” to “vibrate only mode”. If accepted, thecellular telephone will remain in “vibrate only mode” until the cellulartelephone receives another message at 6:45, at which time, the event isscheduled to be completed. At this time, the system and method of theinvention will instruct the cellular telephone to return to its defaultnotification profile, or alternatively to another scheduled notificationevent profile. In an alternative example, the ending time may betransmitted along with the beginning time of the scheduled event toallow the notification profile to revert to its original setting, thuseliminating the need for an additional transmission.

If there is another event following the current event in the calendar,the calendar or scheduling tool can similarly send a message initiatingthe notification profile of the next event based on profile of the nextevent; whereas, if there is no event following the current event, amessage can be sent initiating a change to the default setting. Eithernotification message may also result in a silent notification by theportable device of the change to the user, in order to accept, declineor modify the notification profile request.

In this example, as should now be understood, the user for each portabledevice should define the portable device(s) to the calendar tool, inaddition to populate (e.g., changing) the notification profiles for thatdevice, defining the event type along with the desire to be notified, ifrequested. The user may also be given options to define the “on” and“off” time periods which will denote when the calendar or schedulingtool is to control the portable device. Thus, the calendar or schedulingtool is capable of sending a message to the portable device to initiatea change in the notification profile based on the event type specifiedby the user.

When the change of notification profiles is automated, initiated andcontrolled by a calendar system, this will reduce the overhead requiredfor portable device management as the user no longer has to remember toset and unset the notification profile of the portable device. It alsoimproves life quality for others involved in the event as there will befewer disruptions due to inappropriate ringing.

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative environment 10 for managing the processesin accordance with the invention. To this extent, the environment 10includes a computer infrastructure 12 that can perform the processesdescribed herein, which is accessible by a user 16. In particular, thecomputer infrastructure 12 is shown including a computing device 14 thatis operable to perform the notification system 30 and relatedfunctionality thereof. The computing device 14 is shown including aprocessor 20, a memory 22A, an input/output (I/O) interface 24, and abus 26. Further, the computing device 14 is shown in communication withan external I/O device/resource 28 and a storage system 22B. The set ofnotification profiles 50 can be stored in the storage system 22B. As isknown in the art, in general, the processor 20 executes computer programcode, which is stored in memory 22A and/or storage system 22B. Whileexecuting computer program code, the processor 20 can read and/or writedata, such as data associated with the notification system 30, to/frommemory 22A, storage system 22B, and/or I/O interface 24. The bus 26provides a communications link between each of the components in thecomputing device 14. The I/O device 28 can comprise any device thatenables an individual to interact with the computing device 14 or anydevice that enables the computing device 14 to communicate with one ormore other computing devices using any type of communications link.

In any event, the computing device 14 can comprise any general purposecomputing article of manufacture capable of executing computer programcode installed thereon (e.g., a personal computer, server, handhelddevice, etc.). However, it is understood that the computing device 14 isonly representative of various possible equivalent computing devicesthat may perform the processes described herein. To this extent, inother embodiments, the functionality provided by computing device 14 canbe implemented by a computing article of manufacture that includes anycombination of general and/or specific purpose hardware and/or computerprogram code. In each embodiment, the program code and hardware can becreated using standard programming and engineering techniques,respectively.

Similarly, the computer infrastructure 12 is only illustrative ofvarious types of computer infrastructures for implementing theinvention. For example, in one embodiment, the computer infrastructure12 comprises two or more computing devices (e.g., a server cluster) thatcommunicate over any type of communications link, such as a network, ashared memory, or the like, to perform the process described herein.Further, while performing the processes described herein, one or morecomputing devices in the computer infrastructure 12 can communicate withone or more other computing devices external to computer infrastructure12 using any type of communications link. In either case, thecommunications link can comprise any combination of various types ofwired and/or wireless links; comprise any combination of one or moretypes of networks (e.g., the Internet, a wide area network, a local areanetwork, a virtual private network, etc.); and/or utilize anycombination of various types of transmission techniques and protocols.As discussed herein, the notification system enables the computerinfrastructure 12 to manage the set of notification profiles 50 andrelated information.

While the invention has been described in terms of embodiments, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practicedwith modifications and in the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

1. A method, comprising: defining at least one event type in ascheduling tool; scheduling a time to initiate the at least one eventtype in the scheduling tool; associating at least one notificationprofile of a device with the defined at least one event type; andchanging a setting of the device to the at least one notificationprofile in response to the scheduling time and the defined at least oneevent type.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one eventtype is defined at least as a meeting, appointment, all day event,anniversary or reminder.
 3. The method of claim 1, where the at leastone notification profile is at least one of a ring at a predetermineddecibel level, vibrate, vibrate and ring, vibrate then ring, visual cueor combination therein.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the changingcoincides with the scheduling time of the defined at least one eventtype.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising notifying a user ofthe changing of the setting.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein thechanging a setting of the device is performed for more than one deviceor event types.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein at least one of thedefining and changing are performed for different devices of the one ormore device and further comprising using a different, same orcombination thereof protocol for each of the different devices.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising accepting, declining or overridingthe changing of the at least one notification profile, after thenotifying step.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprisingtransmitting a signal from a remote location, having the schedulingtool, to initiate the changing of the setting.
 10. The method of claim9, wherein the transmitting is implemented and utilized at least one ofinfrared, SMS and over a network.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising sending an executable attachment to the device or a messagefor initiating the device to send a notification profile to thescheduling tool or the change in the setting.
 12. The method of claim 1,further comprising providing the scheduling tool on at least one of aremote workstation and the device.
 13. The method of claim 1, whereinthe scheduling tool initiates the changing of the setting of the deviceat an onset of the scheduled event type.
 14. The method of claim 1,further comprising defining the at least one notification profile of thedevice and communication protocol to the scheduling tool.
 15. The methodof claim 14, wherein the defining of the at least one notificationprofile is downloaded from at least one of the device and a remoteserver.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein the changing of the settingis initiated by an executable download.
 17. The method of claim 1,wherein the associating a notification profile of a device with thedefined event type is a default option.
 18. The method of claim 17,wherein the default option is one of accepted, declined or overridden.19. The method of claim 1, wherein the changing of the setting isperformed automatically.
 20. The method of claim 1, further comprisingreverting the at least one notification profile to a default settingupon completion of the scheduled event type.
 21. The method of claim 1,further comprising synchronizing, on a predetermined basis, thescheduling tool with the device.
 22. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising providing a password to initiate the changing of the setting.23. The method of claim 1, further comprising of identifying, trustingor distrusting a digital signature, certificate or other identifier toinitiate the changing of the setting.
 24. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising implementing the steps of claim 1 using either software,hardware or a combination of software and hardware.
 25. A methodcomprising: selecting an event type in a calendar tool; associating anotification profile to the selected event type; scheduling a time forthe event type to take place in the calendar tool; and changing anotification method of a portable device with the notification profilein response to the scheduled time of the event type and the selectedevent type.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the changing stepcoincides with the scheduled time of the selected event type.
 27. Themethod of claim 25, further comprising notifying a user of the changingof the notification method.
 28. The method of claim 27, furthercomprising accepting, declining or overriding the notification profile,after the notifying step.
 29. The method of claim 25, further comprisingtransmitting a signal from a remote location, having the calendar tool,to initiate the changing of the notification method.
 30. The method ofclaim 25, further comprising sending an executable attachment or messageto the portable device to initiate the change in the notificationmethod.
 31. The method of claim 25, further comprising defining theportable device, notification profile of the portable device andcommunication protocol of the portable device to the calendar tool. 32.The method of claim 31, wherein the notification profile is downloadedfrom at least one of the portable device and a remote server.
 33. Themethod of claim 31, wherein the changing of the notification method isinitiated by an executable download.
 34. The method of claim 25, whereinthe associating a notification profile of a portable device to theselected event type is a default option and the default option is one ofaccepted, declined or overridden.
 35. The method of claim 25, furthercomprising reverting the notification method to a default setting uponcompletion of the scheduled event.
 36. The method of claim 25, furthercomprising synchronizing, on a predetermined basis, the calendar toolwith the portable device.
 37. The method of claim 1, wherein the stepsof claim 1 are initiated by a service provider.
 38. A system comprisinga calendar tool containing data associated with one or more event typesand notification profiles, and at least one of a hardware and softwarecomponent for setting an event type of the one or more event types to ascheduled time, associating the event type with a notification profileof the one or more notification profiles, and initiating a change of anotification method in a portable device to the notification profile inresponse to the scheduled event.
 39. The system of claim 38, wherein theat least one of a hardware and software component is structured andadapted to notify the portable device of the change in the notificationmethod, prior to the change.
 40. The system of claim 38, wherein the atleast one of a hardware and software component is structured and adaptedto provide a default setting of the notification method.
 41. The systemof claim 38, wherein the at least one of a hardware and softwarecomponent is structured and adapted to revert the notification method ofthe portable device to a default setting.
 42. The system of claim 38,further comprising at least one of a hardware and software componentstructured and adapted to accept, decline or modify the changed to thenotification method.
 43. A computer program product comprising acomputer usable medium having readable program code embodied in themedium, wherein the computer program product includes at least onecomponent to: define an event type and scheduling time in a calendartool; associate a notification profile of a device with the definedevent type; and change a notification method to the associatednotification profile in response to receiving a scheduling time of thedefined event type.
 44. A process for integrating computinginfrastructure, comprising integrating computer-readable code into acomputer system, wherein the computer system comprises a computer usablemedium, wherein the computer usable medium comprises a profilenotification enhancement, and wherein the code in combination with thecomputer system is capable of performing a method comprising: definingan event type and scheduling time in a calendar tool; associating anotification profile of a device with the defined event type; andchanging a notification method to the associated notification profile inresponse to receiving a scheduling time of the defined event type.